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Overview

Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences at Brunel University London is currently in the top 10 in the UK and the top 100 in the world (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017).

You can apply to spend a year studying abroad at San Francisco State University.

Brunel University London’s impact on the future wages of its graduates is among the best in the country compared to other universities, according to a new analysis of government data by The Economist (2017).

About the course

As a Brunel student, you will enjoy research-led teaching of the highest quality -which will stand you in good stead in your future employment. Our great location in London, plus our strong links with sports personnel, organisations and institutions at local, regional, national and international levels, enables us to offer our students considerable opportunities for career progression.

By specialising in coaching, you will acquire knowledge and understanding of sport health and exercise sciences from a coach’s perspective. The focus is on the evaluation and application of different pedagogical approaches within the coaching setting. As a result, you will better understand of athletes’ learning and developmental needs.

Aims

The main aim of our newly-revamped programme is to give you the opportunity to build your degree to suit your preferences and needs. This is why we offer a range of bespoke pathways, all of which are designed to improve your versatility and confidence – and ultimately your employability.

Your employability after graduating is important to us, so we offer a range of opportunities and events throughout your course to prepare you for life after graduation. These include:

sandwich placements in the UK and abroad

employability workshops by the award winning Placements and Careers Centre

Enquiries

Course Content

All of our new undergraduate programmes comprise discrete study blocks, which enables students to draw on the knowledge and skills acquired from a combination of study blocks; such integrated learning is a proven cornerstone of effective learning. You only have to decide on your pathway at the start of your second year at Brunel.

Employability

We work closely with our award-winning Professional Development Centre to offer a broad range of opportunities for students to enhance their employment prospects while studying with us. Such opportunities include

On completion of their studies, students will be able to demonstrate proficiency in the following skills:

Communication – written and oral (through assignments, research projects, and group presentations)

Ability to work as part of a team through collaborative activity (eg group projects and presentations across all three levels).

Ability to network: being able to form relationships and get to know people

Ability to interpret different forms of data and work across different disciplines

Willingness to learn and act independently when required

Adaptability when confronted with different – and sometimes challenging - situations

Ability to conduct research, analyse and interpret findings, both quantitative and qualitative independently

Ability to prioritise workloads and work to deadlines/targets

We prepare you for a broad range of career opportunities in a wide range of sport-related jobs, in such areas as coaching, consultancy, fitness testing and training, higher education and research, sport development, sport management, teaching, and youth work.

Graduates have found positions with, among others, the UK and regional Sports Councils, national governing bodies for sport, international organisations, sports clothing/footwear companies, professional clubs and local authorities, as well as in the leisure industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the armed forces.

Careers

We prepare you for a broad range of career opportunities in a wide range of sport-related jobs, in areas such as coaching, consultancy, fitness testing and training, higher education and research, sport development, sport management, teaching, and youth work.

Graduates have found positions with, among others, the UK and regional Sports Councils, national governing bodies for sport, international organisations, sports clothing/footwear companies, professional clubs and local authorities, as well as in the leisure industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and the armed forces.

Undergraduate study can prepare you for PGCert (Education) courses and Master’s degrees.

95% of our graduates go on to work and/or study six months after finishing the course. *

* Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) 2015/16

Work Placements

All Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences students can include a work placement year as part of their course. Our urrent students are working at many different companies in the UK and overseas including Queens Park Rangers Football Club, the London Sports Trust and Quiksilver.

We encourage all students to undertake a placement as research shows that these students secure better grades in their final year and earn significantly more upon graduation.

The main objective of the work placement is to give Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences undergraduates an opportunity to apply their knowledge of theory to practical problems in real-life situations. In this way the relevance of the theory becomes more apparent and often the application of knowledge leads to a deeper understanding of the theory itself.

At Brunel we provide many opportunities and experiences within your degree programme and beyond – work-based learning, professional support services, volunteering, mentoring, sports, arts, clubs, societies, and much, much more – and we encourage you to make the most of them, so that you can make the most of yourself.

Access to Higher Education Diploma Complete and pass an Access to Bioscience, Health, Forensic Science, Nurtrition, Psychology, Science, or Sport course, with 45 credits at Level 3 with Merit in all units. Applicants must also demonstrate that they have substantial relevant work or life experience since leaving school or college.

Five GCSEs at grade C or grade 4 or above are also required, including English Language and Maths.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants as well as our full GCSE requirements and accepted equivalencies in place of GCSEs.

A commitment to sport or exercise is expected from all applicants.

Entry criteria are subject to review and change each academic year.

International and EU Entry Requirements

If your country or institution is not listed or if you are not sure whether your institution is eligible, please contact Admissions

This information is for guidance only by Brunel University London and by meeting the academic requirements does not guarantee entry for our courses as applications are assessed on case-by-case basis.

English Language Requirements

Brunel University London strongly recommends that if you will require a Tier 4 visa, you sit your IELTS test at a test centre that has been approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) as being a provider of a Secure English Language Test (SELT). Not all test centres have this status. The University can accept IELTS (with the required scores) taken at any official test centre or other English Language qualifications we accept as meeting our main award entry requirements.

However, if you wish to undertake a Pre-sessional English course to further improve your English prior to the start of your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider. This is because you will only be able to apply for a Tier 4 student visa to undertake a Pre-sessional English course if you hold a SELT from a UKVI approved test centre. Find out more information about it.

Brunel also offers our own BrunELT English Test and accepts a range of other language courses. We also have Pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet these requirements, or who wish to improve their English. Find out more information about English course and test options.

Teaching and Assessment

Teaching

How will we maximise your learning?

At Brunel, we emphasise students’ active involvement in learning – it is not a passive process, whereby you simply ‘absorb’ knowledge.

You develop independent study skills through set reading tasks, student-led seminars, group work/presentations, laboratory work and self-testing, culminating in the writing of the final year dissertation. We regularly use formative assessment – the ongoing process whereby students reflect on their own learning – to foster a sense of confidence and independence.

In order to maximise your learning opportunities, we are committed to providing you with access to high quality resources (including those designed for students with special needs) and the best possible learning environment. We will introduce you to the services provided by the Library and by the Computer Centre as part of your induction programme and give you a library card along with a username and password allowing you unlimited access throughout your period of study to the library resources, the University intranet, email and the web.

How will we teach you?

Teaching excellence is given a very high priority at Brunel. Our teaching is enhanced by staff scholarship, research and involvement in sport performance and with national/international agencies and organisations.

Lectures – Lectures take place in a relatively formal setting. They aim to impart information and to provide you with a framework and the stimulation for independent study.

Seminars – Seminars are an integral part of the teaching process in sport sciences. Lecture material is examined in more detail, or theoretical concepts and/or data are analysed and discussed in small groups. Seminars give you the opportunity to engage with members of staff and other students to a greater extent than is possible in a lecture setting.

Tutorials – All our members of academic staff have published office hours during which time they are available to discuss academic matters relating to specific modules. Individual or small group tutorials are integral to the dissertation module.

Practicals – Practical classes are designed to give you hands-on experience of some of the experimental techniques relevant to particular Sport Sciences disciplines. They often give you the opportunity to use laboratory and field equipment while working with people to collect, analyse, interpret, and present your results in an appropriate format. Importantly, there are also sport performance-based classes, where the emphasis is on linking theory with practice.

Computer-assisted sessions – Computer-assisted sessions are used to teach quantitative data analysis methods, during which you will be given the chance to practise analytical methods in a computer laboratory, equipped with sufficient terminals to allow everyone hands-on experience. Many of the laboratory practical sessions in physiology and biomechanics also incorporate the use of information technology in data collection, analysis and computer simulation.

How will we support and guide you?

On entry to the University you will be allocated your own personal tutor who can advise you or refer you to colleagues with relevant knowledge - covering everything from health and medical matter to the extensive support services at Brunel.

The tutor - student relationship normally lasts for the whole of the three-year period of your degree course, who can act as your academic and character referee after your graduation.

Assessment

In keeping with our passion for developing motivated and independent learners, we employ a broad range of assessment methods, including individual projects, oral presentations, group projects, essays, case studies, oral assessments, laboratory report writing, written examinations, computer-based tests and practical tasks (these include sports laboratory work and in-the-field performance). End-of-term formal written examinations frequently form at least part of the assessment of a module and may include a number of elements - for example multiple choice, written essays, short answers and data analysis questions.

Special Features

Outstanding facilities

We have some of the best sports facilities in the UK which include an indoor and outdoor sports and fitness complex. You’ll get to study in our modern physiology and biomechanics laboratories as well as train on the same running track used by Olympic legend Usain Bolt.

A members-only fitness suite incorporating treadmills, cycles and rowing machines and a weight-training area with free and fixed weights

Athletics track: an international standard 400m six-lane track with full field event facilities

Grass and all-weather third generation (3G) and synthetic pitches

Outdoor hard tennis courts.

Placement opportunities

All Sport Sciences students can include a work placement year as part of their course. Current students are working at many different companies in the UK and overseas including Queens Park Rangers Football Club, the London Sports Trust and Quiksilver. We encourage all students to undertake a placement as research shows that these students secure better grades in their final year and earn significantly more upon graduation.

Brunel Sport Scholarships

American Exchange Programme

San Francisco State University is the destination for two of our undergraduate students every year. All undergraduate Sport Science students can apply for the exchange. If selected, you would study for one year in America then return to Brunel for your last year of study.